Painful Smiles

Claudia face slammed. That was something that happened at her grade 8, she barely knew Wright then. Had he been always fangirling her?

“That’s was very long ago, isn’t it?” she tried to evade the question. “Well, I’ve seen that boy before. He’s fat…”.

“Round, you mean” Micah interrupted.

“Well, round and big. If you were just a… say… thirteen and that boy looked like a seventeen year old. I wonder how you did it” Josh continued.

“Also, Wright’s been talking about it for up to four years now, whenever he remembers” the others chuckled.

Claudia smiled, an epic scene of older brothers exposing their younger sibling.

“Well, the “round” boy was a bully. He just got unlucky” she shrugged. Josh nodded and tapped her on the shoulders.

They unusually fell silent along the way. Claudia guessed that it could be cos of whatever Doni had said to them in Ukrainian, their native tongue, possibly to stop exposing Wright, but she enjoyed the quietness.

She was now few streets to her own street.

“Well, if you are really Larabee, then I have a message to give to you. Wright’s at France right now. He won a scholarship” Dani broke the silence, he had an air of pride as he spoke.

“Wright’s at France?” Claudia’s head could explode. She turned to each brother and they replied with a nod.

“He said he had gone to a hospital to inform you or something but he wasn’t allowed in. He left yesterday. It was urgent” Mark explained further.

“We’d visit him tomorrow” Micah said excitedly but calmed down when he saw Claudia’s sad face.

“Don’t cry, he wasn’t your boyfriend. Or was he?” Doni joked but Claudia didn’t laugh.

“He won the art competition he had been working so hard for. We couldn’t really help him cos we all based in the sciences and even though Dani was art inclined, he studied law not anything art related” Josh added.

“But then some hot French guy named Michael, paid some art geek to pretty his art up. I guessed that’s why his playing around at the Eiffel tower aka France now” John said.

Claudia looked confused on his choice of words. His twin, Josh, looked amused but nodded to agree.

It was John’s first words to Claudia and she barely understood, he could just leave the talking to the rest anyway.

She got to her street and came down from their vehicle.

“Thanks for the ride and the laugh” she forced a smile.

“Sure. Anything for Wright’s girl… classmate” Micah nodded and waved. Claudia smirks and waved back.

They drove off later and then Claudia noticed that they’ve continued their reckless driving. They’d been more gentle when she was in it. Well, away with them.

She picked more courage and strolled ahead to her home. Expecting the best, now her father had been bailed and was now home.

She knew her family would change especially now her mother had left Clara at rehab. Claudia didn’t really think Clara’s had a psychology problem just anger issues and perhaps anxiety, as well.

No matter how much Clara wanted to deny it, Claudia could see she just wanted the whole world to love her and would come against anyone who threatens her glory.

She only hoped that the “rehab treatment” works for good and not for worse.

As she got closer to her home. A neighbor of hers rushed out from his home and blocked her way.

She rolled her eyes at him. The little fifteen year old Jackson again, bothering her.

“I heard you’ve been in the hospital?” he asked with his arms still stretched restricting her from moving forward.

“If it’s about your crush, Clara, then you won’t be seeing her for some months. Get used to it” she pushed her way ahead.

“It really isn’t about Clara. Your mom told me that Clara caused an accident that made you and Paul to the hospital. I was asking for your health really” he pouted.

“Well, it’s fine. Thank you” she went on inside. He was basically like all the boys she knew.

Crush on a girl, and when they don’t see that girl flirt with their sister. Immature. Definitely not going to waste her time on him.

On opening her gate, a breeze of positivity blew passed her and she cheered up.

She yelled, “Paul, I’m home” as per her normal ritual and awaited his welcoming.

She remembered she didn’t get him snack like she used to but she couldn’t have as she had no money with her and as she had been dropped by Wright’s brothers.

“Paul? I’m home” she called out again. After this second attempt, he rushed out to big her and dragged her inside the house with him. He was looking all good. He had been discharged two days before her.

“You have a visitor” he whispered. Claudia had already guessed who it was. Unless it wasn’t Michael Louis’s car that was outside their gate.

She just wasn’t sure what he came to do.

All eyes traveled to her when she came into the living room. While her eyes traveled to the piles of gifts in the middle of the room.

She greeted all the elders there and waved slightly to Michael. Why was the atmosphere looking like they’ve been waiting for her?

To add, an elderly man, with a chic style, and the woman, who had accompanied Michael on his first visit to her, were sitting alongside Michael.

Michael, for some reasons, wasn’t meeting her gaze.

Claudia also noticed her father and felt instantly uncomfortable so she sat at the only unemptied chair left, that’s wasn’t besides her father but was besides Michael.

“I know you might know him already right?” her father cleared his throat.

Claudia gulped down saliva and nodded, “He is my classmate. I do”.

Silence fell in the room again.

Claudia looked at her mother to see if she could somehow, telepathically or verbally, tell her what was going on but her mother just sat there, streaming down tears.

Author’s note:

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